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Hit Parade
 
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Hit Parade (Hardcover)

by Lawrence Block (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
Price: £16.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Orion (9 Aug 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0752873458
  • ISBN-13: 978-0752873459
  • Product Dimensions: 23.8 x 15.6 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 588,902 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #72 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Authors, A-Z > B > Block, Lawrence

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Product Description

Review
Confirmed reviews include: LITERARY REVIEW September OBSERVER 24 Sept SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 24 Sept IRISH TIMES 23 October

Product Description
New York hit man Keller is a law unto himself, and when a situation goes awry - which despite his best-laid plans it so often does - he makes some surprising judgement calls to provide a twist in the tale. It's not all drudgery in the life of an assassin. Keller's jobs allow him access to all sorts of sporting events - following a baseball team round the country, providing the insurance for a fixed horse race, attending a basketball game in Indiana and playing golf in Arizona. He even gets to mix his passion for stamp-collecting with a hit on a famous philatelist. Wisely, Keller always travels for his work. New York is home, and he doesn't want to mess on his own doorstep. But the jobs are drying up, and he needs money. So he breaks the rule - and regrets it. His cover is at risk - he is even followed home - and Keller has to use all his remarkable skill to make sure he can continue doing what he does best.

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A Murderer's Parade of Sequential Short Stories, 11 Aug 2006
By Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: Hit Parade (John Keller Mysteries) (Hardcover)
We all know that there are people who earn their living as murderers. But we probably haven't ever met any of them . . . and hope not to.

Lawrence Block raises the veil to show us what it might be like. The result is a sort of Sopranos about the business and hobbies of criminal professionals.

John Keller prefers to be called Keller. He usually receives his jobs through Dot, who is contacted by a variety of aggrieved parties and booking agents who want a "hit" made.

Murder itself doesn't make much of an impression on Keller. He's usually over the effects pretty quickly, but he doesn't see himself as a sociopath. He's more like a narcissist who looks out for number one pretty well before considering anyone else.

Like many people who reject conventional values, Keller has his own ethics. A contract must be promptly fulfilled . . . except under certain circumstances. You'll learn more about those circumstances as you cruise through these loosely connected stories.

Lawrence Block does a good job of maintaining suspense by developing each "hit" in unexpected ways. You'll sweat along with Keller as he deals with these challenges . . . oddly finding yourself rooting for a killer. How perverse is that?

Ultimately, I found it a little offensive that Keller was made to be so sympathetic. Although obviously this book is all about dark humor, the deadpan doesn't always steer you away from Keller as much as it should.

Keller is going through a mid-life crisis in this book. He's asking himself if killing people is all there is. But he's also anxious to stay agile so he won't be killed in pursuing his profession: That means more killing to stay in practice. The hobby of stamp collecting turns out to be an oddly perverse distraction. Buying the stamps is the biggest part of the fun, but the stamps are really worth what you pay for them, and there's nothing to do once you've filled an album.

The best part of the book for me was Keller's reaction to 9/11. If you don't like the first two stories (Keller's Designated Hitter and Keller by a Nose), be sure to stick with the book until you read Keller's Adjustment. I think your opinion of the book will rise at that point. How many of us adjusted our lives in fundamental ways after 9/11? This story will bring you back in touch with those thoughts and emotions.

The story that was richest in irony was Keller the Dogkiller. I commend that one to those who are fascinated by twisted senses of right and wrong.

Keller's Double Dribble was the funniest story in the lot. You'll like this one!

Quotidian Keller is another fine story full of good character development. It's my second favorite after Keller's Adjustment.

But read them all. You'll be rewarded by rich plot twists, if nothing else.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Killing for Business/Reading for Pleasure, 14 Oct 2006
By Ichabod J (Farleigh Wallop, Hampshire) - See all my reviews
  
You can always rely on Block to give you crisp prose and good plot ideas. This book is no exception. It takes the form of separate tales, each one focusing on another of Keller the assasin's hits.

There is black humour throughout, though this won't be to everyone's taste, given the subject matter. I find the most intriguing aspect of the Keller books is the way in which a hitman is portrayed as a regular working guy, just out to make a living (or should that be a killing).

I've often thought Block's short stories would make an excellent basis for a TV series, not least the tales of Keller. Anyone who enjoys 'The Sopranos' might like this and the other Hit books - it's similar territory, examining the everyday life of a man whose trade is violence.

I wouldn't recommend this to my grandmother, but provided you can read this tongue in cheek, it's good stuff of its type.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I really really enjoyed this, 14 Jul 2008
By G. Robinson (Yorkshire) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Hit Parade (Paperback)
I had never read anything by this author before and at first thought I would not get throught his book. However, that lasted for the first few pages only. The book takes you through various jobs carried out by the hit man lead characted, held together by conversations with his 'agent'. Sometimes we are given the full details of how he researches and carries out the job, and others we are told only that the job is completed. This means the book keeps pace and is kept interesting without it becoming a predictable book of short stories. It is the best book I have read in a very long time and I am now going to read his other books.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A Murderer's Parade of Sequential Short Stories
We all know that there are people who earn their living as murderers. But we probably haven't ever met any of them . . . and hope not to. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Professor Donald Mitchell

3.0 out of 5 stars A Murderer's Parade of Sequential Short Stories
We all know that there are people who earn their living as murderers. But we probably haven't ever met any of them . . . and hope not to. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Professor Donald Mitchell

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Hit Parade (John Keller Mysteries)

Hit Parade

New York hit man Keller is a law unto himself, and when a situation... Read more

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